Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Oregon Cable Group LLC d/b/a ) File No. EB-02-TS-318
Northwest Cablevision for )
Cascade Cable TV Inc., Colton Cable TV, and )
Monitor Telecommunication Systems )
)
Operator of Cable System in: )
)
Molalla, Oregon )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the )
Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: July 15, 2003 Released: July 17, 2003
By the Chief, Technical and Public Safety Division, Enforcement
Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant Oregon Cable Group LLC d/b/a
Northwest Cablevision for Cascade Cable TV Inc., Colton Cable
TV and Monitor Telecommunication Systems (``the Companies'') a
temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'') for the above-captioned cable
television system. Section 11.11(a) requires cable systems
serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers from a headend to either
provide national level Emergency Alert System (``EAS'')
messages on all programmed channels or install EAS equipment
and provide a video interrupt and audio alert on all
programmed channels and EAS audio and video messages on at
least one programmed channel by October 1, 2002.1
2. The Cable Act of 1992 added new Section 624(g) to the
Communications Act of 1934 (``Act''), which requires that
cable systems be capable of providing EAS alerts to their
subscribers.2 In 1994, the Commission adopted rules requiring
cable systems to participate in EAS.3 In 1997, the Commission
amended the EAS rules to provide financial relief for small
cable systems.4 The Commission declined to exempt small cable
systems from the EAS requirements, concluding that such an
exemption would be inconsistent with the statutory mandate of
Section 624(g).5 However, the Commission extended the
deadline for cable systems serving fewer than 10,000
subscribers to begin complying with the EAS rules to October
1, 2002, and provided cable systems serving fewer than 5,000
subscribers the option of either providing national level EAS
messages on all programmed channels or installing EAS
equipment and providing a video interrupt and audio alert on
all programmed channels and EAS audio and video messages on at
least one programmed channel.6 In addition, the Commission
stated that it would grant waivers of the EAS rules to small
cable systems on a case-by-case basis upon a showing of
financial hardship.7 The Commission indicated that waiver
requests must contain at least the following information: (1)
justification for the waiver, with reference to the particular
rule sections for which a waiver is sought; (2) information
about the financial status of the requesting entity, such as a
balance sheet and income statement for the two previous years
(audited, if possible); (3) the number of other entities that
serve the requesting entity's coverage area and that have or
are expected to install EAS equipment; and (4) the likelihood
(such as proximity or frequency) of hazardous risks to the
requesting entity's audience.8
3. The Companies filed a request for a temporary, 36 month
waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the shared captioned cable
system on July 18, 2002. In support of its waiver request,
the Companies state that the three member cable system
operators serve between 113 and 934 subscribers in small,
rural communities. Based on price quotes provided by EAS
equipment manufacturers, the Companies estimate that it would
cost approximately $30,000 to install EAS equipment at the
shared cable system. The Companies assert that this cost will
impose a substantial financial hardship and provide financial
data for 2000 and 2001 in support of this assertion. In
addition, the Companies submit that their subscribers will
continue to have ready access to national EAS information from
other sources, including the captioned cable system. In this
regard, the Companies note that subscribers currently have
access to national EAS messages on 18 programmed channels.
The Companies further submit that subscribers will have access
to EAS information through over-the-air reception of broadcast
television and radio stations.
4. Based upon our review of the financial data and other
information submitted by the Companies, we conclude that a
temporary, 36-month waiver of Section 11.11(a) for the
captioned cable system is warranted.9 In particular, we find
that the estimated $30,000 cost of EAS equipment for this
small cable system could impose a financial hardship on the
Companies.
5. We note that the Commission recently amended the EAS
rules to permit cable systems serving fewer than 5,000
subscribers to install FCC-certified decoder-only units,
rather than both encoders and decoders, if such a device
becomes available.10 Based on comments from equipment
manufacturers, we anticipate that such a decoder-only system
could result in significant cost savings to small cable
systems.11
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections
0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311 of the Rules,12 Oregon Cable Group
LLC d/b/a Northwest Cablevision for Cascade Cable TV Inc.,
Colton Cable TV and Monitor Telecommunication ARE GRANTED a
waiver of Section 11.11(a) of the Rules until October 1, 2005
for the captioned cable system.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Oregon Cable Group LLC d/b/a
Northwest Cablevision for Cascade Cable TV Inc., Colton Cable
TV and Monitor Telecommunication Systems place a copy of this
waiver in their system files.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Peggy S.
Turner, Chairman, Oregon Cable Group LLC d/b/a Northwest
Cablevision, 15265 Woodburn-Monitor Road NE, Woodburn, Oregon
97071.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Joseph P. Casey
Chief, Technical and Public Safety
Division
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.11(a).
2 Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of
1992, Pub. L. No. 102-385, § 16(b), 106 Stat. 1460, 1490 (1992).
Section 624(g) provides that ``each cable operator shall comply
with such standards as the Commission shall prescribe to ensure
that viewers of video programming on cable systems are afforded
the same emergency information as is afforded by the emergency
broadcasting system pursuant to Commission regulations ....'' 47
U.S.C. § 544(g).
3 Amendment of Part 73, Subpart G, of the Commission's Rules
Regarding the Emergency Broadcast System, Report and Order and
Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, FO Docket Nos. 91-171/91-
301, 10 FCC Rcd 1786 (1994) (``First Report and Order''),
reconsideration granted in part, denied in part, 10 FCC Rcd 11494
(1995).
4 Amendment of Part 73, Subpart G, of the Commission's Rules
Regarding the Emergency Broadcast System, Second Report and
Order, FO Docket Nos. 91-171/91-301, 12 FCC Rcd 15503 (1997)
(``Second Report and Order'').
5 Id. at 15512-13.
6 Id. at 15516-15518.
7 Id. at 15513.
8 Id. at 15513, n. 59.
9 The waiver will extend from October 1, 2002, until October
1, 2005. We clarify that the waiver we are granting also
encompasses the EAS testing and monitoring requirements.
10 Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules Regarding
the Emergency Alert System, EB Docket 01-66, FCC 02-64 at ¶ 71
(released February 26, 2002).
11 One manufacturer estimated that an EAS decoder-only system
can reduce the cost by 64% over what a cable operator would spend
for an encoder/decoder unit. Id. at ¶ 70.
12 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204(b) and 0.311.